Ontario Trillium Benefit Payments to Arrive This Week: Essential Information You Should Know

Ontario Trillium Benefit Payments to Arrive This Week: Essential Information You Should Know

Hola Amigos! Wondering if you're getting an extra buck this week? Here's the scoop on the Ontario Trillium Benefit that drops this Friday.

This baby, initially born under former premier Dalton McGuinty, consists of three separate credits - the Northern Ontario Energy Credit, the Ontario Energy and Property Tax Credit, and the Ontario Sales Tax Credit. It's designed to help low- and middle-income Ontarians, give them a hand with property taxes, energy bills, and daily expenses.

But is everyone eligible for this tax-free bonus? To find out, you need to meet at least one requirements of the three included credits.

Now, let me break down each component and its eligibility criteria for you:

1. Northern Ontario Energy Credit (NOEC): This baby is meant to help those living in the chilly lands of Algoma, Cochrane, Kenora, Manitoulin, Nipissing, Parry Sound, Rainy River, Sudbury, Thunder Bay, and Timiskaming handle their high home energy bills.
2. Ontario Energy and Property Tax Credit (OEPTC): To qualify for this one, you need to meet one of the following:
3. Pay rent or property tax for your main residence in Ontario,
4. Cover home energy costs for your main residence on a Native reserve in Ontario,
5. Live in a university, college, or private school residence in Ontario,
6. Or shell out cash for accommodation in a public or non-profit long-term care home in Ontario.
7. Ontario Sales Tax Credit (OSTC): Unlike the other credits, this one requires you to be 19 or older, or be currently or previously married or in a common-law relationship.

The amount you receive from the Ontario Trillium Benefit (OTB) depends on your income, household size, and the credits you qualify for. July will bring changes as payments for the 2025 benefit, based on the 2024 tax return, start rolling out.

For the 2024 benefit year, based on the 2023 tax return, the Northern Ontario Energy Credit maxes out at $180 for individuals who live in northern Ontario. The Ontario Energy and Property Tax Credit offers a maximum of:

• $1,248 for those aged 18 to 64.
• $1,421 for those aged 65 and older.
• $277 for those living on a reserve or in a long-term care home.
• $25 for those living in a designated university, college, or private school residence.

Individuals can receive up to $360 and extra credit for spouses, common-law partners, and dependents under 19 for the Ontario Sales Tax Credit.

Bear in mind, the OTB doesn't mess with your GST/HST credit payments. To calculate your potential payout, the CanRev'gang has a child and family benefits calculator online.

Typically, monthly benefits are doled out on the 10th day of each month, but if the 10th falls on a weekend or bank holiday, payments will be issued on the last workday before then. If you qualify for more than $360 from any of the three credits included in the OTB for the 2025 benefit year, you can choose to receive your benefit in monthly installments or a single payment in June 2026. If your total is $360 or less, your benefit will be issued in one payment—in July of this year.

For those who chose to receive their OTB in monthly installments, May's payment should already be in their bank account by Friday. So keep an eye on those account balances folks!

Remember, there's a pack of scammers posing as the OTB sending text messages asking for personal information. The government will never contact you asking for personal information or demanding payments. Stay safe, peeps!

To receive the OTB for this year, residents need to have filed their personal income tax and benefit return for 2024, including the ON-BEN form. The CRA, acting on behalf of the Ontario government, will assess the OTB after you've filed.

Stay tuned for the next payment dates for those who chose to receive the OTB in monthly installments:

• May 9, 2025
• June 10, 2025
• July 10, 2025
• Aug. 8, 2025
• Sept. 10, 2025
• Oct. 10, 2025
• Nov. 10, 2025
• Dec. 10, 2025

Enjoy the extra cash! 🎉💸

1. The Ontario Trillium Benefit, a tax-free bonus for low- and middle-income Ontarians to help with property taxes, energy bills, and daily expenses, was initially introduced under former premier Dalton McGuinty.
2. To be eligible for the Ontario Trillium Benefit, one must meet at least one of the requirements of the three included credits: the Northern Ontario Energy Credit, the Ontario Energy and Property Tax Credit, or the Ontario Sales Tax Credit.
3. The Northern Ontario Energy Credit is intended to help those living in northern Ontario, including Algoma, Cochrane, Kenora, Manitoulin, Nipissing, Parry Sound, Rainy River, Sudbury, Thunder Bay, and Timiskaming, handle their high home energy bills.
4. To qualify for the Ontario Energy and Property Tax Credit, one must meet at least one of the following criteria: pay rent or property tax for one's main residence in Ontario, cover home energy costs for one's main residence on a Native reserve in Ontario, live in a university, college, or private school residence in Ontario, or pay for accommodation in a public or non-profit long-term care home in Ontario.
5. The Ontario Sales Tax Credit requires the applicant to be 19 or older, or currently or previously married or in a common-law relationship.
6. The amount one receives from the Ontario Trillium Benefit (OTB) depends on one's income, household size, and the credits one qualifies for. For the 2024 benefit year, based on the 2023 tax return, the max Northern Ontario Energy Credit is $180.
7. The redeeming benefits of the Ontario Trillium Benefit will start to roll out in July for the 2025 benefit year, based on the 2024 tax return, and residents must have filed their personal income tax and benefit return for 2024, including the ON-BEN form, to receive the benefit. Future payment dates for those choosing monthly installments are from May 2025 to December 2025.

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